My first Dreamforce was 2012.

I had been an accidental admin since 2007. Early adopter of the Salesforce Community, engaging with amazing Salesforce peeps on Twitter who helped me solve problems and make me feel not so alone as I embraced this new role.

I took a new job in 2012 and was stoke to find out that in addition to a new great role, my first day on the job would entail picking up my laptop at the office and flying out to Dreamforce! Talk about an amazing first day!

That first Dreamforce is a bit of a blur. 70K+ people in a city I’ve never been to. I was a late registrant so couldn’t book many sessions and had to wait in many overflow lines to get in. But being there energized me more than ever to embrace this Salesforce Community.

Dreamforce 2013 and 2014 were just as awesome – I got to actually meet in person these amazing people in the community who had been helping me from afar at the Meet the MVPs session and make so many connections. I started blogging and kicked off a salesforce-themed podcast with John Graf who I met at the first ever Admin Keynote and threw myself into all the things.

In 2015, Dreamforce was a whole different animal for me. Not only was there a huge focus on Admins at this Dreamforce but I was a newly-named Salesforce MVP, I was able to present in several sessions, got interviewed by the Salesforce Admins team about the Nerdforce podcast I co-hosted and got to party on the Dreamboat!

The next few years at Dreamforce were as amazing – speaking lots and lots of times, hosting Dungeons & Dreamforce live for charity, helping to launch Trailhead with the Trailhead Gladiators gameshow at DF16 to the un-toppable experience of being featured in the Behind the Customer Series at the 2018 Admin Keynote and meeting Beck backstage in 2019!

We all know what happened in 2020 and the virtual DF was just not the same! I was fortunate enough to be one of the few who got to attend the Hybrid 2021 Dreamforce in person and it was eerie being on the blocked off Howard street with a deserted city around us.

We won’t talk about 2022 (I wasnt able to attend and still feel FoMo from it) but got back into the swing of DF in 2023 but as an attendee-only – no speaking gig!

This year 2024 I am super stoked about attending! Specifically hanging with some of my Legends of Low Code peeps at the Platform Keynote on Wednesday as well as speaking on an amazing roundtable about “What I Wish I Knew When Building an Automation Strategy” on Thursday.

As someone who never graduated college. Who worked for years in a factory before taking a low-paying office job. Who, one day, got asked to learn Salesforce out of the blue. To have come this far, with these amazing Dreamforce Memories. I can attest that this whole journey is one about PEOPLE. About COMMUNITY.

That’s what Dreamforce is and will always be to me. A celebration of Community. Of people who stand up and stand in for each other. Of people who help each other and lift each other up. Of people who, no matter whether you speak the same language or live in the same hemisphere you have something in common.

Whatever your Dreamforce looks like this year – whether you get to go in person or will be watching Salesforce+ from afar. Make it a point to connect with someone new. Re-connect with someone you haven’t seen in a while. Share your knowledge and experiences with others. Lift someone up. Let someone lift you up. Celebrate Community. I am fortunate to be a part of it.

If you’ll be in San Francisco for Dreamforce and want to connect – let me know! I could use a concert buddy!